To anyone who followed Joe Biden’s successful campaign and his comments since clinching the presidency, the underlying theme of his inaugural address was hardly a surprise: a plea for national unity and a pledge to govern for all Americans, regardless for whom they voted. But the most crucial aspect of Biden’s speech may prove to be whether his tone helps persuade enough congressional Republicans that the nation’s current problems are sufficiently serious they need respond to

“Jeongsindae” was a familiar word in my family. As a little child I didn’t know what it meant. Still, I discerned an association with something “forcible” and “unspeakable.” One of my sisters, born in 1932, went to a secondary school affiliated with an education college. My father believed if she became a teacher, she could avoid being drafted into the “women’s volunteer corps.” Japan’s surrender to the Allied forces brought Kor

Korean parents are famous for their overprotectiveness and single-minded dedication to their children. As long as their children bring home good grades from school and win competitions, Korean parents can wink at their children’s ill manners and impertinence to the point of spoiling them. Nevertheless, there are exceptions. Recently, two children, a 16-month-old and an 8-year-old, died due to their parents’ ruthless and consistent abuse. Both are dead, not directly from neglect --

Precisely at noon on Wednesday, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will take the reins of government. And the nation’s focus will turn quickly to the new administration. As we look in one direction, Trump administration officials will go off in another. Some will slink away, hoping to avoid our attention, knowing the shame they brought upon themselves. Others will almost certainly need to lawyer up. But the criminal process will be for a relative few. All will pursue one common aim: They will

Alexey Navalny, the opposition leader whom the Russian secret police nearly killed with military-grade poison last year, is worried about Twitter’s decision to shut down Donald Trump’s account. Navalny is no Trump fan. The reason he is worried is that the way US tech has ganged up on Trump and his most radical supporters can lead to his own deplatforming in Russia, where he has no access to state-controlled media and relies on mostly US-based social networks -- YouTube, Facebook, Twi

“What’s going on over there?” The question from a former NATO colleague in Europe was among the many texts and WhatsApp messages that lit up my phone Jan. 6 as I watched on live television the astonishing and frightening events unfolding at the US Capitol. The level of incredulity and concern, followed by revulsion and anger, expressed by my friends and former colleagues overseas underscores the damage that was being done to our standing abroad by a rioting mob bent on overtur

The assault on the US Capitol by President Donald Trump’s supporters, incited by Trump himself, was the predictable outcome of his four-year assault on democratic institutions, aided and abetted by so many in the Republican Party. And no one can say that Trump had not warned us: He was not committed to a peaceful transition of power. Many who benefited as he slashed taxes for corporations and the rich, rolled back environmental regulations and appointed business-friendly judges knew they w

The US never fully recovered from the Great Recession. One of the benefits of the $1.9 trillion COVID relief package unveiled Thursday night by President-elect Joe Biden is that -- in addition to helping Americans hurt by the pandemic -- it could help America accomplish that goal. At that point, US politics can safely return to arguments about whether tax increases or spending cuts are the best way to reduce the deficit. It may be a tired debate, but if it means the US has finally healed from t

There was a spring in my step as I walked up the stairs to the office after the longest stretch away since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hollering “Best health for the new year!” to security personnel at the entrance lobby nearly two weeks into the year felt great. Since late December, most of the staff members of The Korea Herald have been working from home. On Wednesday, I was back at the office for a meeting. The sight of piles of old newspapers and unopened envelopes st

Pandemic weary Americans entered 2021 with hope for better times but found those hopes dashed. On Jan. 6, as a mob of insurrectionists, incited by Trump, stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to halt the ceremonial counting of the electoral votes for president and vice president. After a six-hour siege, Congress resumed counting and formally certified Joe Biden as president and Kamala Harris as vice president in the early morning hours of Jan. 7. The images of the siege shocked the nation and, i

While all people had their souls tied with the daily outbreaks of COVID-19, a major reform in the law enforcement system was stealthily carried out in South Korea. Ordinary people are not well informed of how the changes will affect their lives while they are a matter of much concern for those who play with political power. The primary theme is “prosecution reform,” designed to reduce the powers of prosecutors to mere writers of indictment from what was described as the almighty th

In 1940, with Europe gripped by a war from which the United States remained aloof, US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared that the country needed to be “the great arsenal of democracy.” He meant it literally: He was appealing to Americans to “put every ounce of effort” into producing arms for European democracies, especially the United Kingdom, in their fight against fascism. But his words also carried powerful symbolic significance, positioning the US as the wor

A proposal by India, South Africa and eight other countries calls on the World Trade Organization to exempt member countries from enforcing some patents and other intellectual property rights under the organization’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, known as TRIPS, for a limited period.  It is to ensure that intellectual property rights do not restrict the rapid scaling up of manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. While a few members ha

The city government of Seoul has recently come under fire for its “guidelines” for pregnant women who are preparing to give birth. The guidelines say that before going to the hospital, a pregnant woman should be sure to organize the refrigerator by taking out old food and filling it in with several new side dishes, such as instant curry, black bean sauce noodles and soups, for the sake of her husband, who is assumed to be uncomfortable with cooking. The preposterous tips continue

US government bond yields have registered some notable moves in the first few days of 2021. Should they continue on their current pace, they risk causing headaches for both policymakers and stock investors because of their underlying drivers. In less than two weeks, the Treasury yield curve has experienced a significant increase in yields in longer-dated bonds, or what is known in financial markets as a “bear steepening.” The yields on 10- and 30-year bonds have risen 20 basis point